Paranoia
by Iskeirka
Summary: They say that opposites attract, and yet no one suspected this unlikely couple... My take on Thadon and Syl's relationship.
1. Him and Her

**A/N: My take on Syl and Thadon's relationship. It will be written in parts, though each one is separate. The first section is from Syl's perspective, and the second Thadon's.**

**Paranoia chapter one: Him and Her**

Syl had always been careful; after all, she knew there were people out to get her. She could feel their watchful gazes like an itch that couldn't be scratched. It was only a matter of time before they would act. Someone wanted Syl gone, but she wasn't going to back down without a fight.

Sly had always been careful. Some called it insanity, others called it wisdom, and some said it was paranoia. She didn't listen to the rumours that she was unfit to rule Dementia; no, Syl knew that there was nothing wrong with her – barring what was normal in the Isles, of course.

When she went outside, Syl changed her clothes and covered her hair so she wouldn't be recognised; it wouldn't do to be murdered on the streets of Crucible. She changed her eye colour, her posture, even her accent – all to prevent being recognised.

The day she met him, Syl was feeling daring. She knew that those plotting her murder were Demented, so she should be safe with the Manics, right? They were too caught up in their pleasures and drugs to notice someone out of place, or to be involved in a murder conspiracy.

The day she met him, Syl was making a trip to Bliss. She didn't care anymore; nobody knew it was her, so they could hardly call her a traitor. She would be fine.

That was until _he _came bustling past, knocking her shopping out of her hands and onto the ground. The Duchess had always shopped for herself; someone might try and poison her food or drink, and she didn't trust her attendants. Syl hadn't trusted anybody – until she met him.

They say that opposites attract, and this was certainly the case for them. As the Manic glared at the Duchess he felt something. Surely glaring at her wasn't nice – not this fine lady. Syl felt it too; a strange pull, a tensing of her chest – she couldn't breathe properly. Even so she ignored the strange attraction, choosing instead to snatch her things from the Aureal that had collected them.

As she stormed off, thoughts swirled around her head about the Manic. Syl hadn't felt like this before, and she hated it. She couldn't seem to keep her mind off of the strange man that had knocked her shopping out of her hands and her mind askew.

They say that opposites attract, but Syl didn't want to believe that she could be attracted to some- some- _madman! _Syl _hated _those simple-minded, drug addicted fools. Yet still the feeling persisted and developed, changing to a strange curiosity. She wanted to find out more about him – what he was like behind the title. Syl wanted to find out more about her Manic counterpart, and that disturbed her. She hadn't interacted with Thadon before, so why the sudden change of heart now? Syl had no idea what had gotten into her.

As she left the bright and cheery streets of Bliss, Syl hardly took note of her surroundings. Her thoughts were constantly turning to _him. _Syl had never met the Duke of Mania before; only heard about him. Then again, she had never set foot in Bliss before that fateful day, and now she never wanted to again.

It was his fault that she felt this way.

-------

Thadon was drunk – inebriated to the point of- of-

Well, he couldn't find the right analogy to describe this feeling, he was that drunk. Sober, Thadon had a way with words. A majority of the time he didn't make sense, but he still had skill in the crafting of sentences, paragraphs, and all those wonderful squiggly lines that people called an alphabet.

The reason he was so drunk in the first place was to forget something. He couldn't quite remember what he was supposed to be forgetting, so obviously it had worked.

Wait; there is was. Thadon had wanted to forget about an unfortunate incident in the square that afternoon. He had knocked into a woman, spilling her shopping all over the ground in the most wonderfully chaotic pattern – which was, to say, no pattern.

Then he had glared at her for being so clumsy as to walk into him. Honestly, people these days; no respect for authority. She hadn't even bothered to get out of his way, though perhaps it had been partially his fault.

No, it was entirely _her _fault. She had bumped into him, so she was to blame.

And yet part of Thadon didn't want to blame her. The beautiful, dark-eyed creature was far too innocent to blame. She had looked so shocked as he had bustled past and knocked her shopping to the ground. No – perhaps he was indeed to blame.

Part of him felt sorry for the poor wretch, and part of him was filled with the strangest curiosity. He wanted to know more about the strange woman, and that perturbed him.

"Ignorance is bliss, my friend," he muttered. Obviously he wasn't drunk enough yet.

Thadon picked up the bottle of wine once again, attempting to drown these strange thoughts with hard liquor.

**A/N: So what did you think? I hope I captured their characters alright, though I'm not so sure. Please drop me a line and tell me what you think of it.**


	2. Too Much Madness

**Paranoia chapter two: Too Much Madness**

Syl was displeased. Not only was her Lord _forcing _her into this celebration of who knew what, but _Thadon was coming? _She never had to deal with him before, so why now? The Courts of Madness never had anything to do with each other; it was a simple, unspoken rule, and Sheogorath must have been more off His rocker than usual to break with that convention. Perhaps it was this mortal champion of His; her Lord _had _mentioned cheese…and clowns.

Syl remembered the last time He had thought to use clowns. He had filled a pit with nasty, vile-smelling clowns that – after a while – had no choice but to devour each other. Cannibalistic devils…

Besides, if she went to this gathering, there would be a million and one chances for someone to eliminate her. No, she would stay ensconced in the safety of her quarters and send an underling in her place. Not that they could be trusted either…

No, no one was to be trusted. Syl would have to do this herself.

Frowning, she rummaged in her many casks and chests for a particular amulet. It would protect her from poison, and she could always wear those shoes that would shield her from magical effects. Syl didn't want to go to this blasted gathering, but she knew that if she sent someone else, they could be part of the conspiracy. She couldn't have that; they might drag the Court of Mania into this plan of theirs, and then there would be double the danger.

No, Syl would have to go herself, there was no other way. At least she would have protection from any magic or poison. She didn't have to eat anything, and she could always just leave if she felt endangered. So long as Syl treated everyone as a possible suspect, then she would be fine. No one would get close to her, and she would ignore anything past a simple greeting. Syl was sure that any conversation would be spent probing her for weakness.

Grimacing, Syl set about getting ready for this infernal event.

***

The music was loud – too loud. Evidently the Manics were to blame. They enjoyed their celebrations far too much. It was unhealthy, and all they did was sit around drinking _something _and eating food. Syl would rather tear off her own fingernails than spend another minute in this horrible place. Or maybe she could find someone else's nails to shred – yes, that sounded like a wonderful idea.

Syl was so deep in thought that she didn't even notice the person approaching until it was too late. A light tap on her shoulder made her jump, and she whipped around to face the cause of the sudden disturbance. Her heart racing, Syl faced the one person she least wanted to see.

Why couldn't he leave her _alone? _Did he have to invade every aspect of her life? Why couldn't Thadon just vanish?

Syl glared at her Manic counterpart, watching cautiously for signs of anything unusual. She wouldn't put it past her enemies – whoever they were – to get the ruler of Mania involved in a murder conspiracy. Although she had never met him – to his knowledge – of course the Duke of Mania would dislike, if not openly abhor her. They were opposites, and opposites do not get along well, contrary to popular belief. Besides, he was drunk, which would only make matters worse. Thadon would probably end up rambling about whatever sprung to mind, and that drove her crazy. Er.

Thadon peered at her, leaning against a cold stone pillar in an effort to stay upright. Syl frowned; of course he was drunk – he always was – but it wasn't often he was _this _drunk.

Syl sighed; this was going to be a long, _long _night.

-------

Thadon was ecstatic. For once there was a good and proper celebration to be had! Normally only the House of Mania held a party that was worth attending, and even those got boring after a while. No, not tonight; tonight would be wonderful! Both the Courts of Madness joining together to celebrate the-

To celebrate what?

Thadon didn't linger on that fact for long. So what if he didn't know what the party was for? It was a party, and therefore he simply _had _to attend; it was an unspoken rule. Or maybe it wasn't, but he thought it was. It was a nice rule, at any rate.

Thadon grinned cheerfully at nothing in particular, wrenching the cork from yet another bottle of liquor. Surely they wouldn't mind if he showed up to the party a little drunk.

***

Thadon could hardly even remember where he was. There was a party of some kind going on around him, yes, but that wasn't really helpful. Perhaps he could ask someone where he was? He couldn't seem to recognise anything, but that might just have been the alcohol impairing his thinking.

Thadon turned, noticing someone sitting in the corner in the process. What were they doing there? Shouldn't they be enjoying the party? Oh well, maybe they could tell him where he was.

Thadon wandered over to the prone figure, his head buzzing and his heart thumping for some unknown reason.

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**A/N: So here's chapter two of this thing. Sorry it's taken so long to update, but I actually forgot about this little fanfic! Anyway, thanks for reading!**


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